


The Snow's Latibule

by Ezrudine



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Fantasy AU, Knight!Harry, M/M, Magic, Snow Spirit!Eggsy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-05-30 23:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6446461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ezrudine/pseuds/Ezrudine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"What worth could a human's word possibly be?"</p><p>"More than what you can imagine."</p><p>---</p><p>Harry Hart is a Kingsman Knight and just like any other Kingsman Knight, it is his duty to uphold the King's laws and make sure that everything remains peaceful in the Kingdom.</p><p>So when a problem comes up in the form of a village cursed with eternal winter, Harry has to come face to face with the supposed Ice Witch who is the source of all of the village's misery and woe & end their life to save the village. But not everything goes according to plan and things aren't always what they seem.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Snow's Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Fantasy AU where Knight!Harry and the rest of the Kingsmen are tasked with solving a village's eternal winter crisis that could possibly be the work of a sinister and evil Ice Witch in the Mountain. 
> 
> First multichapter Hartwin fic! Hope I don't screw anything up :>  
> Other tags will be added as story progresses

The cold did bother one Harry Hart

After all, if there was anything that Harry Hart truly hated in the whole world, it was the cold. Not in the poetic sense either, not the whole symbolism of the presence of death and absence of life.

No.

He literally wanted to tell the snow to fuck off.

“Ah, it looks like the great and mighty Harry Hart has finally been bested.” He hears a voice at his side and sees Merlin catching up to him on his white stallion, looking completely fine and dandy in his dark winter coat despite the horrid weather.

Harry wanted to flip the old Scot off but he couldn’t really do it with the rest of the Kingsmen and Chester King in a 30 meter radius.

“Can’t blame him. Of all the missions we could’ve gone to, why did it have to be with the village cursed with eternal winter?” Roxy, Kingsman’s only female Knight, struts unto Harry’s right side on her black horse, pulling her fur coat closer around herself.

“Don’t let Chester hear you say that, he’s already pissed off by the fact that the King made you come.” Merlin says, keeping his voice a volume lower than usual but a teasing expression on his face.

Roxy rolls her eyes, “The old coot can kiss my horse’s arse if he thinks that he can ignore the fact that I passed the tests and was inducted as a Kingsman.”

The two men try to hide their amusement at the young woman’s words. Merlin then tries to cool Roxy off by redirecting her attention to Alastair, her uncle who happened to be the Kingsman who recruited her, who was calling her up ahead on the path. Harry adjusts his reins in his hands as he checks their progress on the journey to the cursed village. They were currently travelling through a thick forest with their horses, tall oak trees flanking their left and right, all leaves plucked off and covered with snow despite it supposedly being in the middle of summer in this place. At this point Harry would like to say that he was currently enjoying the gentle shimmer of the afternoon sun, but there was no such thing in this dreadful place. Too many clouds and trees were blocking most of the light, so it was quite dark. As if things couldn't get any more depressing. 

There were seven Kingsmen lined up on the snowy path including the head of the Kingsmen, Sir Chester King himself, who Harry always has a few reserved choices words about. Ah, but he is a gentleman as much as he is a Knight, so he keeps it to himself.  Aside from Harry and Chester, there was Merlin, Roxy, Alastair, James and Gawain, all decked up in their own black winter coats, though it looks like Harry was the only one having a problem with the cold.

“Don’t suppose you have a heating spell for us, Merlin?” Harry asks, glancing at his companion.

Merlin, Kingsman’s very own wizard (Though he prefers not to be called that), scoffs, feigning offence, “You people always assume there’s a spell for everything.”

“But there is one, right?”

Merlin pauses, “Yes, but seeing the sight of you shivering is pleasing me too much to even try.” Merlin says, turning his head to smirk at Harry.

“Merlin.”

“Aren’t you glad that you Knights aren’t wearing your iron armor today?”

“Merlin you little—“

A loud sound of a horn echoing in the distance hushes the Knights.

“Ah, looks like they’ve already spotted us.” James, another Kingsmen Knight, who was in front of him says.

Harry looks up and sees the entrance to the village quite a few ways ahead of them. Tall walls made out of wood encircle the entire village, with a tower at either side of the gate. As they got slightly closer, a man on one of the sentry towers starts waving a brightly lit torch at them. Chester, who was at the lead of the Kingsmen, raises his hand in turn and the wooden gates open for them.

They were immediately welcomed by the sight of the villagers huddled in front of the bonfire in the middle of the village. Some of them were poorly dressed for the weather, only having large fur blankets over their shoulders but despite that they were still all gathered there, perhaps to see the Kingsmen. As Harry and the rest of the Kingsmen climb down their horses, Alastair and Gawain immediately tending to the horses to check how they were fairing with Roxy assisting them, a bearded man donning a thick coat and hood approaches them, a small child following behind him.

“Ah praise the heavens that you were able to arrive here safely.” The man says, eyebrows drawn together in belief, “We feared that the weather would have hindered your travel here.”

Chester shakes his head, patting off some of the snow that collected on his coat, “Nonsense, mere weather cannot stop a Kingsman Knight.” 

The small boy who was clutching unto the bearded man’s leg suddenly tugs at his father’s arms, making the man look down, “Yes Isaac?”

“Papa, who are they?”

Even from a distance, Harry could see Chester restraining himself. The old man hated being interrupted, from a child especially. Thankfully a blessing appears in the form of James crouching next to the child, that signature bright smile on his face.

“Well, we’re the Kingsmen Knights of his Royal Highness the King, boyo.”

The child, Isaac, looks at James warily, still hiding behind his father, “What are you doing here?”

James purses his lips together, somehow still maintaining that smile on his face as he pretends to think before he answers, “Well, our job is to help out whenever there’s a problem in the Kingdom. Right now, we’re going to help you and your village fix this big snow problem you’ve got over here.”

Isaac’s face lights up with interest, “You’re going to get rid of the snow?”

James reaches out to ruffle the boy’s hair as he stands up, “Indeed we are! So no need to worry little Isaac, you’ll get to enjoy your sunlight and grass soon.” This time Isaac finally returns Jame’s smile.

“How much do you wanna bet that Alastair has that longing and pining look on his face again?” Merlin suddenly whispers by Harry’s ear. The two men turn their heads a bit to peek at Alastair, who was pretending to check Roxy’s horse with his eyes glued on James and the little kid.

“So much for subtlety. How does James not realize?” Harry replies in a hushed tone, turning back to the front.

“Never underestimate James Spencer’s stupidity.”

Chester suddenly clears his throat, giving a pointed look to the rest of the Knights who immediately turn away and pretend that they were doing something else, “Yes, well then, I assume that you’re the head of this village?” He asks the bearded man in front of him.

“Ah yes, I’m Oscar.” Oscar then urges Isaac to go play with the other kids with a gentle push and gesture before Isaac nods and waves at the Knights before running off, “We are very grateful for your assistance in our time of need, Sir Chester. It’s been quite a hard time for us here in the village.”

Chester takes a look around the village, his face unreadable except for the slight tilt of his lips, “How long has this winter been plaguing your village?”

“For over 3 months now, I believe it started from Mid Spring. We’ve been trying to survive by deliveries of food and other supplies from other neighbouring villages but ever since last month, we’ve been victims of several bandit attacks. We honestly don’t know where they came from but they’re making the situation worse for us. We’re barely scraping by as of this moment.” Oscar says, the exhaustion and stress showing on his face. Harry couldn’t help but feel bad for the man, how hard it would be to lead a village through unnatural circumstances.

Harry speaks up this time after seeing Chester remaining quiet after the Village Head’s update, “Do you perhaps know why this bizarre weather is happening to your village?”

Oscar presses his lips into a line and his thick eyebrows furrow down for a moment, “Well, a few rumors are going around, some believe it to true, that the Ice Witch in the mountain is the reason for this. It’s the only theory we’ve got going on, seeing as this has never happened to our village before.”

Chester King raises an eyebrow, “An Ice Witch? In the mountain?” The Knights look up for a bit and indeed, behind the village was a tall mountain covered in ice and snow. Numerous dark clouds surrounded the top of the mountain, creating an ominous image. Well, it surely looked habitable to an evil witch.

Oscar nods shortly, “Yes, that mountain over there wasn’t like that before, it used to be just your average every day mountain. But a few decades ago, when I was still young boy, dark clouds started heading towards the mountain one morning and before we knew it, the entire thing was covered in ice and snow when night came.”

 Merlin shrugs, “Well, this certainly isn’t the first time we’ve encountered a situation like this. Magic is starting to become more prominent in the kingdom after all.” 

Chester nods before he turns to the rest of the Knights, his posture tall and all regal as usual, “All right, seeing as there will be two matters to take care of, we’re going to split into two groups for this mission. Alastair, James, Gawain and I will be the ones to guard and defend the village from the bandit attacks while Harry, Merlin and Roxanne will be the ones to slay the ice witch in the mountain. We’ll target to solve this matter within one week, gentlemen. Do not let me down.”

“Yes Sir.” The Knights all say in unison, standing straight and tall.

It takes only but a few moments for the Knights to start preparing for their individual tasks, with Alastair and James quickly dividing the rations and materials needed for the two groups. Oscar guides Gawain to their quarters in the village in the meanwhile. Just as the three are about to get unto to their horses to leave, Chester King suddenly approaches them.

“Merlin, do you have the items I had requested from you before?”

“Ah, yes. They’re right over here.” Merlin says as he brings out a small pouch from one of the bags attached to his horse.

Chester takes them and gives a curt nod to the Wizard, “Thank you, Merlin.” Merlin nods in return, closing his bag and gets up on his horse who whinnies quietly in return.

Harry turns his head to Chester, adjusting his grip on the reins once more, “We’ll be on our way then, Chester.”

Chester nods, his eyes this time had a serious glint in them, his eyebrows furrowed down as he looked up at Harry, “Remember Hart. This is a magical being full of enough hate and anger to curse an innocent village to eternal show. Show it no mercy.”

It takes Harry a few seconds before he replies, “Yes sir.”

 

* * *

 

“Bastard didn’t even mention me at the last part. ‘Gentlemen’,” Roxy huffs as she threw down their bags unto the snow, “Do I look like a ‘gentleman’ to you?” Roxy quietly grumbles as Merlin helps her along with setting camp.

“Don’t bother with him, Roxy. He’ll probably choke on his own blood first before he acknowledges your presence.” Merlin says, tying up the reins of the horses and positioning them under a tree.

It took the three of them half a day to get at a decent height of the mountain, the temperature definitely colder here than in the village. Harry pulls his coat closer to his body as he looks around the area where they would set up their temporary camp. There were no signs of wildlife anywhere, except for a few birds that flew over their heads as they made their way up on the mountain trail. Pine trees littered every part of the mountain and they decided to set up camp at a small area that seemed to be encircled with the trees.

“And where are we supposed to find this Ice Witch of theirs. . .” Harry’s eyebrows furrow down as he tries to think.

Roxy looks up from the ground and turns to Harry, “Perhaps a cave or an abandoned cottage somewhere in the mountain? I’m pretty sure that at least the concept of sleep is applicable to them.”

“Or maybe the witch is the flashy sort and has some ice castle somewhere around here. Ah, Roxy, help me with this for a moment.” Roxy walks over to Merlin’s side as she helps him put down a couple rolls of thick fabric and wooden poles on the floor. Once they’re done, the three of them step back and Merlin casts a quick spell for the fabric to unroll themselves and for the wooden poles to stand up till two average sized tents were situated right in front of them.

Seeing the wiza—Merlin’s magic in front of them, Harry suddenly remembers something, “What was in that pouch that you gave to Chester?”

Merlin turns to Harry, “Chester had me make a couple of fire orbs for the mission. Perhaps to be used for heating purposes in the village. Heaven knows those people need it.”

“I wonder what the villagers did to make that Ice Witch curse them like that.” Roxy wonders out loud when she’s done putting their stuff inside the tent.

Harry shakes his head, “Won’t be the first time we’ve heard a magical being doing this just for the heck of it.” Harry double checks the sheathed sword hidden below his coat. The Kingsmen were, fortunately, not wearing their iron armour in this weather. They were wearing their signature hooded black fur winter coats over thick leather armour reserved for winter wear and a pair of sturdy boots. Not the most comfortable clothes Harry has worn, but they were very useful at the moment.

“Or the village could be hiding something from us. That wouldn’t be the first time either.” Merlin contemplates, looking down at the village from their spot. Merlin was right, Harry couldn’t count the number of times these villages and towns hid deep dark secrets that hindered the Kingsmen’s progress in solving the problem.

Roxy interrupts their thinking as she speaks out, “Well, what matters is that we find this witch and break the curse. If there is something shady going on, then Uncle Alastair and the others will be able to handle it.”

Harry nods at that, “We’ll scout the area then, separated since it would maximize our time more if we were to go in different directions.” Harry says as he turns to his two companions. “I’ll go up North while you two can handle the east and west side of the camp.”

Merlin and Roxy nod in turn, checking for their own weapons too.

“We should meet back here before the sun sets. It’s best that we don’t linger around in the dark.” Roxy suggests as she adjusts her gloves and puts on her hood. For that, Harry smiles a bit proudly at her.

Merlin nods, “Indeed, we don’t know what could be in this mountain.” The Scot pauses for a bit before he digs something out of his bag, “But if the need arises, use these.” He says as he gives each of them a pale blue stone.

Harry raises it to his eye level and looks at it curiously, “What are they?”

“Just simple glow stones. Tap them against any hard surface and they’ll be as strong as any normal torch. They can only be used once though, so don’t waste it.” Merlin informs them as the two nod and put it into their pouches. The three of them raised their gazes and a silent message of ‘stay safe’ was passed between them.

And the three of them were off.

 

 


	2. The Snow's Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have never experienced snow or winter before, since I live in a Tropical country, so I apologize in advance if there are some inaccuracies here and there :>

It takes Harry about 10 minutes of walking to remind himself that he really doesn’t like snow. The next time the King sends them out to a mission located in a winter wonderland, he’ll have Roxy break his leg for him and his arm by her uncle.

At least Harry could take solace by the fact that it was extremely quiet in the mountain. Only the sound of cold wind brushing the branches of the trees could be heard and that is if Harry was even close to enough to hear it. The silence was almost peaceful in an eerie and unnerving way.

He’s been following the same mountain trail for the last hour or so until sooner or later Harry reaches a noticeably colder part of the mountain, the wind slightly stronger here than the area around the camp. The pine trees were also taller compared to the ones before, towering over Harry like wooden giants. He pulls his coat closer around his body, wishing he had thought of bringing another one to layer over it. At this point, he was getting a little bit frustrated. He’s been walking for at least an hour and a half by now, but there was still nothing in sight.

Maybe the villagers were just fooling around with them? If there truly was a witch in this mountain, it should’ve gotten angry at Harry by now for trespassing their territory. Witches were dreadfully territorial after all. They learned that the hard way when James had his skin turn blue for at least a month for accidentally stepping on and ruining a witch’s garden in a mission in the western side of the Kingdom. Alastair was still extremely besotted with him despite the skin abnormality and took the chance to ‘help out’ Merlin and James to cure the curse. For all the flirting James did, he was one oblivious idiot.

Harry couldn’t help but chuckle at the memory before he was reminded of his own situation. Perhaps there was another reason why the village was stuck in an eternal winter at the moment, it was common for people to blame the magic folk for all their troubles after all. It wouldn’t be the first time. As Harry was about to turn back, resolved to approaching this problem at a different angle, a shuffling sound suddenly echoes in the quiet field.

Bringing out his sword in a flash, Harry turns his head to the direction of the sound before he lowers it in disappointment when he sees what the source was. It was only a doe, who was currently blinking its black eyes curiously at Harry.

“Ridiculous, surprised by a deer.” Harry chuckles at himself before he puts his sword back into its sheath beneath his coat. He crouches down in an effort to look harmless to the deer and holds out his hand to beckon it, “Come on, little guy I—“

Harry’s eyes widen when he looks past the deer and sees a humanoid shadowy figure hiding behind a tree a few meters away, watching Harry creepily, making the hairs on his arm stand. The Knight abruptly stands up and the figure flinches in return before it suddenly runs away.

“Hey! Wait!” Harry calls out, scaring the deer and making it also dash away before he starts chasing after the mysterious figure. Who could possibly be wandering around in a place like this?

Luckily with there being snow on the ground, it was easy to track the figure’s footprints. The Knight keeps running, seeing the person just running up ahead. With a somewhat clear view of the person now, he could see that they were wearing a long light blue cloak which looked really heavy to lug around if you asked Harry. But that obviously didn’t seem to the problem to that person, being able to run away from a Kingsman Knight. Age didn’t slow down Harry Hart after all.

Harry dodges past the trees and rocks that hindered his path as he chased after the person. They were already heading deep into mountain territory, the trees clumping up together and skies growing darker because of the clouds that collected at the top of the mountain.

But Harry was already this close to the person, easily catching up to him, he just needed to reach out and—

Harry hit the ground with a loud _‘poof’_ as a large mound of thick snow suddenly catches his ankle and sends him falling down into the snow. Harry spits out the snow that accidentally made its way into his mouth and was about to get up to continue the chase, when he sees that the figure was completely gone.

Harry grits his teeth and kicks at the snow that caught around his leg, a bit peeved that he had lost the chase. At least Merlin wasn’t here to see him, heaven knows that man will never let it go if he found out about Harry tripping in the snow and falling face first into it.

Grumbling beneath his breath, Harry gets up and brushes away the snow that collected on his hair and coat because of the fall. He adjusts the sling of his sword, feeling the scabbard digging into his side as he makes sure that nothing had dropped out of his pouch.

‘At least they left some footprints for me to follow.’ Harry thinks to himself as he sees the trail left by the person. Straightening his back, Harry follows the footprints. A few ways ahead, Harry could see the effort the person had made to hide their footprints, kicking snow over it or letting his coat drag on the snow to flatten it out. But Harry wasn’t a Kingsman Knight for no reason, with his tracking skills that were honed after years of experience, Harry arrives at a mouth of a cave where the footsteps had lead him to.

Harry enters the cold cave and couldn't help the shiver that shook his body. Everything was covered in clear and smooth ice, like how every child would dream an ice castle would look like. Though, it didn't look very homey. It was horribly colder inside than it was on the outside, Harry pulls the large fur coat around himself more, as he steps into the cave a bit more, each step echoing loud in the empty cave.

With a layer of thin ice on the floor, there were no more footprints left to follow. But there was no doubt that the person was here, hiding somewhere.

Harry followed the large tunnel the cave seemed to turn into. He brings out the small stone Merlin gave to him earlier and tapped it lightly against the wall before it started to glow a light blue colour, just enough for him to see through the darkness. It took him quite a bit of walking till the tunnel lead into a large and open cavern, the glow stone Merlin gave to him seeming useless now what with there being large holes on the ceiling of the cavern, acting as skylights that gave the entire place an ethereal atmosphere.

The ground of the cavern was layered once again with snow that probably fell from the holes in the ceiling and there were large ice stalactites and stalagmites littered everywhere. At the far side of the cavern was a large lake frozen solid, perhaps gathered from old rainwater or sprouting from an underground river. All in all, it felt like a scene from a fairy tale book.

Just like the outside, it was quiet, not a sign of life anywhere. Was Harry tricked by the mysterious figure? Perhaps they had made a fake trail to lead to this cave while they ran in a different direction entirely. After all, there didn’t seem to be anything in this cave. Just when Harry was about to put his guard down, the sound of something rustling catches Harry's attention.

The Knight turned his gaze to the large stack of boulders and rocks on one side of the room. With his sword in his hand, Harry cautiously approaches the source of the sound. When Harry was a few steps away, the rustling sound came back even louder and when Harry peeks in behind the boulders, he was surprised at what he saw.

Harry had expected the worst of the worst but he was not expecting to see a beautiful young man with smooth alabaster like skin that had a slight tinge of light blue, his hair was of a pale blonde, closing already to white if it weren't for the stubborn shades of yellow still holding on. His white eyebrows were furrowed down as he tried to tug and pull at his clothes that seemed to be stuck in a crevice in between two rocks. If you could even call those robes clothes. It looked like they were made with snow and ice combined with each other to form a fluffy yet cold looking light blue fabric. There was a layer of frost on it too, again, if you could call it frost, since it looked like a skilled and talented painter had detailed unto a robe to create mystical and curious looking patterns on the light blue 'fabric.'

It looked as if the ‘person’ in front of him was made out of winter himself.

Harry’s eyes widened in realization. Was this the ‘witch’ who was causing the eternal winter down in the village?

The peculiar creature suddenly freezes, probably realizing that Harry was already right in front of him and turns to him with an expression that Harry could only describe as cold fear mixed with fiery anger before Harry was suddenly blown back a couple meters away unto his back by a cold and rushing wind.

Harry groaned as he sat up, not expecting the sudden outburst as he brushes a few lumps of snow from his hair and sees that the young man is now standing on his feet, the long expanse of his robe gathered into his hands. He was eerily watching him with those glass like light blue eyes of his and Harry couldn't help but feel the air growing colder inside the cavern.

Harry quickly looked around for his sword, he had accidentally let go of it when he was suddenly thrown back and sees it lying a few feet away from him. Scrambling unto his feet, he tries running for it when a blast of ice suddenly throws the sword into the air, making Harry flinch and step back from it. Harry could only watch as it was suddenly wrapped in snow and flew back to the young man, who had his white hand outstretched to catch it.

If Harry had doubted himself before, well he didn't now, now that he had the evidence standing right in front of him. He doesn't understand how nor why, but Harry was sure that this was the creature that caused the villagers' problems.

The snow blanketed sword was now in the young man's hand, who had let go of his robe to inspect the weapon in his hand with curious eyes. He lifted up it up into the air to look at the intricate details on the blade and the fine smith work on its golden hilt that seemed to shine against the light seeping from the holes on the ceiling.

Harry gritted his teeth, great now all he had left was the dagger hidden in his coat. And he couldn't possibly reach for it right now, not when it seemed that he was clearly at a disadvantage at the moment. The magical being in front of him could easily redirect his sword with his powers and cause Harry’s untimely death.

The young man, his curiosity about the sword finally sated, raises his head and looks at Harry with an unreadable expression on his face, "You're not from around here." He says in a wispy soft voice, it didn't sound human to Harry. It seemed to echo in the cave with how hollow it sounded, as if the young man in front of him wasn’t really there.

Harry decides to play along for now, knowing that it would be foolish to try to attack the creature in front of him when it seemed that even the air in the ice cold cave was against him. "No, I'm from the Capital." The Knight replies shortly.

Almost like a child's, the creature tilts his head and looks at Harry with a questioning gaze, "Why are you here then?"

"The villagers reported problems about it still snowing in the village despite it already being summer." Harry couldn't possibly say that he was here to slay the creature right in front of him, not with his sword being in the other's hands at the moment, "It's my job to fix it."

The creature looks at Harry for a moment or so before his gaze drops to the floor, his hands that were holding the sword lowering a bit, ". . . No, it's not."

_What?_

Before Harry could even think of a reply to give to the other, his sword is suddenly in front of him, floating in its sheath made out of snow.

"Take your weapon and never come back to this cave if you wish for me to spare your life." The strange creature says as Harry carefully takes a hold of his floating sword and shakes away the snow. Thank god he had gloves on, he could feel how cold his sword was through the thick cloth of his gloves. Especially on the parts where the creature had touched his sword directly.

Harry's eyebrows furrowed down as he raises his gaze, "Wait--" He stops himself when he sees that the creature was gone, no sign of him anywhere except for the small footprints on the snow from where he stood before.

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean you saw the Ice Witch?” Merlin exclaims, looking at Harry while he was brushing off the snow that collected on his coat the way back here. The cold winds were even harsher and stronger as he made his way back to camp, like the young man in the cave was demanding him to leave.

“Well? Did you slay it?” Roxanne pipes up, her expression of shock matching Merlin’s.

“First of all, I don’t think you could call it a witch when it has the form of a young man, a snow spirit more likely? And no, I didn’t slay it.” Harry says, trying to calm down his horse who seemed to be uneasy all of the sudden.

“Why not? It was right in front of you! We could’ve solved this matter and be rid of this horrible winter.” Roxy huffs, rubbing her gloved hands together after she puffs a warm breath into them. If there was a person who shared Harry’s dislike for winter, it would be Roxy no doubt about it.

“. . . Or perhaps, there was something else stopping you?” Merlin asks, an eyebrow raised at Harry.

Harry remains silent for a few moments before speaking once more, “It talked to me, the ‘snow spirit’ that is. Its voice seemed distraught for some reason and even when it had the chance to kill me, it didn’t.” Roxy and Merlin share a look at this, “Look, I know it sounds strange, but I feel like there’s something more to this.”

“You’re planning to approach it once more tomorrow then? To talk to it?” Merlin asks, already having an idea of the plan that was formulating in Harry’s mind. Chester King would definitely not like where this was going.

“We’ll come with you then, for backup.” Roxy suggests and Harry couldn’t help but see how she unconsciously touched the hilt of her sword.

Harry shakes his head, “No, I believe it would be best if I were to approach alone. It already seemed uneasy with only me in its territory. If I came back with other people, it would take it as a threat.”

“And that would mean for Roxy and I to just sit here while you do that?” Merlin crosses his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow at Harry once more.

Harry raises his hands to placate the other, “Just until I can get it comfortable enough to handle other people.”

Merlin sighs, raising his hands in defeat before he turns away to prepare the campfire, “Looks like there’s no stopping you, Hart. Just be wary of handling magical beings like him, they can get very unpredictable at times.” 

Harry sighs in relief internally when he also sees Roxy nodding her head to give her agreement to the matter too.

“Ah! Hello over there!” A woman’s voice suddenly calls out to them.

The three of them immediately turn to the sound of the voice, Harry and Roxy placing their hands on the hilt of their swords as they did so.

A woman who looked to be in her late 30s bundled up in brown coat and hood approached them and stop when she sees Harry and Roxy, “Oh oh, I mean no harm.” She says, raising her hands in surrender, “You are the Kingsmen Knights here to help us right? I saw you climb up the mountain trail earlier.”

Harry lets go of his sword and gestures for Roxy to do the same as the three of them relax when they see that the woman was of no threat, “We apologize, we were just being cautious.” Harry nods as he puts down his hood, “Ah yes, we are. I’m Sir Harry Hart and this here is Lady Roxanne Morton and Sir Merlin.” He gestures to each of them as he introduces themselves.

The woman puts down her hood too in politeness and a curly mess of blond hair and a smile were made visible to the three, “I just wanted to warn you guys about the blizzard that’s about to hit in an hour or so.”

“A blizzard?” Roxy raises her eyebrow at the young woman.

The young woman nods her head before she turns to her right and points to the sky near the summit of the mountain, “See those weird dark clouds swirling at the top of the mountain? That usually happens when a snowstorm is about to happen in this place.” She drops her hand to her side before turning to the three, “I live with my mother at a wood cottage near here, just a few ways close to the mountain trail that leads to the base of the mountain. I think it would be best if you folks stayed there rather than out here in the open.”

“Oh, no we couldn’t possibly intrude, ma’am. It won’t be the first time we’ve had a snowstorm, we’ll know what to do when it comes.” Harry politely declines.

She shakes her head stubbornly, her lips curling into a small frown, “You don’t understand, the blizzards are crazy in this mountain.  Why do you think you don’t see anyone else wandering around here? They’re all too afraid if a snowstorm suddenly catches them off guard. ” She pauses for a while, “Oddly enough, the blizzard gets weaker around the area near our house, so we’ve never had any real reason to move out. So it’s definitely safer there than out here in the open.”

Roxy hums thoughtfully next to Harry before leaning close to Harry, “It’s probably because of the snow spirit you met earlier. You didn’t do anything to anger it, did you?”

Harry shakes his head, eyebrows furrowing down a bit, “None that I know of.”

Merlin leans into Harry’s other side, “It would be best if we survived long enough to actually finish this mission, Harry. And I don’t sense any hidden hostility from this woman either.”

Harry thinks about it for a few seconds before he nods, “Well, if it wouldn’t be much of a bother, Ma’am. We’d like to take up on your offer.”

The young woman heaves a loud sigh of relief and smiles brightly, “Oh, thank goodness!” She pulls up her hood once more as she straightens up, “I’ll wait for you guys to pack up and we’ll walk to my house together.”

Harry politely returns her smile, “We’re very grateful for your help, ma’am.”

She shakes her head, a flustered smile on her face, “Oh nonsense, it’s best to help each other out in times like this. Especially since you kind Knights are working so hard to fix the village's snow problem.”

“Oh,” Roxy suddenly pipes up as she was about to bring her bag out of the tent, “You didn’t tell us your name, Miss.”

The young woman’s eyes widened in realization and she chuckles a bit, “Oh how rude of me, my name’s Daisy. It's nice to meet you all.”


	3. The Snow's Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took to long! Sorry for that! The internet only came back today lol

The three of them end up at a warm looking wooden cottage that was just a twenty minute walk from their camp, it was a miracle that none of them even saw this house on their way up the mountain or at least when they scouted around the area. There was a brick chimney puffing out white smoke on the roof and several logs piled up together near the door, at least they were able to provide stable warmth for themselves in this cold, Harry thought to himself.

“Ah here we are, make yourselves at home then!” The young woman, Daisy, chimes as she dusts off the snow from her coat and opens the door.

The three Knights enter the house after dusting off their coats and taking them off, Roxy sighing immediately in happiness when she felt the warmth coming from the fireplace at the left side of the room, “Oh yes, this was a very good idea.”

Merlin nods at her statement as Daisy comes to them once more, holding out her hands to get their coats.

“Oh no it’s fine Miss Daisy, we can—“Harry is interrupted when Daisy just snatches away the coats off their hands.

“Nonsense, guests are guests! So you three just sit down and relax while I go and prepare tea for us.” Daisy says in a no nonsense voice and disappears into a room when she’s done hanging their coats.

“Well, she certainly moves around quick.” Merlin comments as the three of them awkwardly move to the living room area of the house, sitting on the soft and warm couches there. Harry glances around and sees the room detailed with many personal items, making it seem homier. Above the fire place were a few carved wooden animals, several books stacked up unto each other and an old chipped dagger, which what was probably used to make the wooden animal statues. There was a painting on one side of the wall, it depicted a quite younger Daisy standing next to a middle aged woman who had the same blonde hair as her, both of them smiling warmly. Even the muted red carpet at their feet, with its fade away stains and loose strings, seemed to be filled with fond memories. 

“Ah, I suppose you are the Kingsman Knights Daisy was going on about earlier?”

The three turn to see an old woman come out of one of the rooms. Her hair seemed to be the same color as the snow outside, but the look on her face was very warm. Harry glances at the painting and back at the old woman and she smiles at Harry, perhaps noticing.

“I’m Daisy’s mother, Michelle. It is an honor to have the King’s chosen Knights in our household.”

The three of them stand up to give their respect to Michelle, “We are equally grateful to the both of you for letting us stay in your home, Ma’am.”

She shakes her head at them, chuckling a bit, “Call me Michelle, please. I can live without the formalities.” She says as she makes her way towards them.

Roxy immediately stands up and helps her to the rocking chair near the fireplace, which earns her a warm smile and a ‘thank you dear.’ The Knightess returns the smile and goes back to her seat just in time to for Daisy to walk in, carrying a tray full of cups of tea.

“Oh, Mom.” She says, stopping a bit when she sees her mother sitting by them, “You shouldn’t move around so much, you were just complaining about your back the other day.”

Michelle shakes her head, trying to bat her daughter’s worries away, “Nonsense. I feel as young as . . .” She gestures to Roxy but pauses and suddenly claps her hands, her lips pulled downward, “Ah silly me! I forgot to ask for your names.”

“Lady Roxanne Morton, Ma’am. But call me Roxy.” Roxy supplies, a bit amused.

“Sir Harry Hart and this is Sir Merlin.” Harry says as he gestures to each of them.

“Well, it is quite lovely to meet you three.” Michelle says, looking at them with a warm motherly look. “I’m sure that Daisy has already said this, but please, do make yourselves at home. It’s the least that we can do for you nice people trying to solve the snow problem in the village.”

As the Knights introduce themselves, Daisy hands them their cups of tea, giving her own to her mother instead. Harry looks down at his cup and sees it filled with Chai tea, though a bit too sweet for him, it did just nice paired when with the cold weather outside.

Speaking of the outside, Harry could already hear the winds getting stronger. He couldn’t actually see what was going on outside, with the windows being closed and all, but he knew that Daisy’s words had ring true. A snowstorm was indeed coming. At that thought, Harry couldn’t help but think of the mysterious creature in the cave and what his connection to the blizzard was.

 

* * *

 

After a few hours of small talk and dinner, the three Knights find themselves preparing for the night, with Harry and Merlin sleeping in a spare bedroom and Roxy joining Daisy in her room. Harry had already taken off his armor, donning a comfortable cotton nightwear he had packed. After helping the girls with the dishes, he turns to head for his room when he sees Michelle standing in front of one of the windows, her old wrinkled hands touching the wooden handles, as if she wanted to open them. There was an odd expression on her face, a sad and longing one that Harry couldn’t quite think of a reason why it was there in the first place.

“Daisy said that the snowstorm’s not over yet, it would be best to keep those windows shut.” Harry politely speaks up. Michelle turns her head a little to look at Harry, giving him a small smile before her hands drop from the window.

“Snowstorms are very dangerous.” Michelle suddenly speaks beneath her breath, “They’re loud and massive but there are times when they become as quiet as a mouse, and before you know it, they sneak right past you and destroy everything you’ve worked hard for.” She says, her eyes raising to the windows once more.

Harry stays quiet, trying to understand the old woman’s words, “Then why stay out here? Why not live in the village with the others? When this weather problem is solved, you can move there and not have to deal with these blizzards anymore.”

Michelle shakes her head, “My not so little girl is a woodcutter, you know? Just like how her brother used to be. If we move to the village, then she’d have to travel so far just to chop some trees.”

“Her brother?” Harry asks, certain that he didn’t see anyone else in the house earlier.

There was a smile on Michelle’s face, but Harry couldn’t help but think it looked so broken, “Yes. Though they’re only half siblings, they both had different fathers.”

“Ah, where is he right now? Is he in the village?”

Michelle slowly shakes her head, “No, he is no longer with us.”

“Ah, I apologize. You have my condolences.” Harry immediately replies back, unable to get rid of the uneasy feeling in his chest. What was it?

Michelle shakes her head again before she completely steps away from the window, “It’s fine. It was such a long time ago, Daisy was quite young then.” She pauses, hesitating for a moment before she opens her mouth, a sad smile on her face, “I lost all of my men to this mountain. Daisy’s all I’ve had left now. Poor girl, I wish that she wasn’t tied to taking care of her old mother. She must curse my name every night.”

It was Harry’s turn to shake his head, his eyebrow furrowing down a bit, “Daisy loves you, Michelle. No daughter like her would ever curse their mother.” Harry couldn’t help but glance at the window too, thinking of mysterious Snow Spirit in the mountain, “And I will do everything in my power to fix that curse and to finally rid this mountain of all its snow.”

Michelle stays quiet for a while before she looks up and smiles at Harry with a proper smile this time, “Thank you, Harry for listening to an old woman’s rant.” She wraps her shawl around her more, “You should go join your companion and get a well-deserved night of sleep. You need all the energy you can for tomorrow.” She says before she goes into her room and closes the door quietly.

Harry watches the old woman go and couldn’t help the sigh that escapes his lips when he’s finally alone. Well, not quite.

“Well, that’s one way of ending the night.” Harry turns and sees Roxy by the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Where’s Daisy?” Harry asks as the young woman steps into the room with him.

“Already off to sleep,” Roxy points back into the direction of their room, “I was about to go into her room when I overheard you two.”

“Eavesdropping is not very ladylike.” Harry comments as Roxy lightheartedly rolls her eyes at him.

“I’m a Knight now, not a lady.” She says pointedly before her expression goes serious, her lips pressing together into a frown, “Harry, wouldn’t it be best to just slay that ice spirit in the mountain? Things would get resolved much faster if we do so. Maybe you couldn’t handle it alone but with Merlin’s magic and my blade, we’re sure to overpower it.” She says and it was quite evident that she had thought a lot about it.

Roxy had gotten in Kingsman with her strong will, cleverness and practicality, enabling her to best her opponents in the trials despite her being ‘just a woman’, as Chester says. She was quick and efficient when following orders and proved herself quite an addition to the Kingsman Knights. And Harry knew, with this being her first mission out of the capital, she was under a lot of pressure to prove her worth to Chester and most especially to the King. She may the great Kingsman Knight she is now, but beyond that, she was still a 24 year old young woman doing her best to earn her place, to earn the respect that she truly deserves among the adults that now surrounded her.

And right now, Harry could see the fiery passion that made Roxy who she was and that was more than enough to earn his respect. But Harry could also see one of Roxy’s flaws, her desire for everything to be perfect and to go according to plan.

Negotiating with the snow spirit, befriending it, now that was definitely not in the plan.

Harry shakes his head, “Not everything must be solved by the end of a blade, Roxy.” He says, seeing Roxy frown a little bit more, he continues, “There will always be times where we must down our swords and be civil with our enemies, whether we like it or not.”

Roxy’s eyebrows furrow down a bit, “But this is a snow spirit, Harry! Not some duke that you can just talk things out with. You’ll end up killing yourself before actually getting somewhere.”

“Though I do appreciate your concern of my wellbeing, Roxy, I will still try to talk to the spirit.” The image of the snow spirit flashes in his mind. That look of fear when Harry had cornered him still burns into Harry’s memory. “It looked so young, Roxy. It looked about your age even.  And it was so frightened when it saw me, it was almost human like. It’s nothing like I’ve ever seen before.”

Roxy couldn’t hide the confusion that showed on her face, unable to understand the thoughts that were going through the other’s mind. But she could kind of get where Harry was coming from.

Harry raises his head to meet Roxy’s gaze, “There’s more to this than what we think, I am sure of that and I will get to the bottom of it.” There was a determined tone in the Knight’s voice, his stand firm and tall.

Roxy looks at him, unable to come up with an answer before she sighs and nods slowly, “All right, Harry. I trust you.” She looks up at him, smiling a bit before she yawns into her hand, “How about we get some sleep, yeah? We’ve got a long week ahead of us.”

Harry chuckles, “Of course.”

 

* * *

 

Harry goes back up the mountain, as discussed with Merlin and Roxy yesterday, this time carrying a bit more items in his pouch than usual. Aside from the ready-made torch in his pouch, Michelle also packed him a few sandwiches, telling him that maybe he could give it as an apology to the spirit for trespassing unto his territory yesterday.

At this point, he was willing to do anything to coerce a truce between him and the snow spirit.

Within an hour or so, Harry finally finds the cave he had from yesterday and carefully walks into it. Nothing’s changed, it was still cold and bare. Honestly, he was expecting some sort of a barrier or something from their encounter yesterday. Especially since Harry had pissed the spirit off so bad that he caused a blizzard in the entire mountain.

As he’s about to enter the dark tunnel, he grabs the torch from his pouch and quickly lights it on fire using a few matches Daisy had given him earlier. Merlin’s glow stone was better, but this would have to do. He goes through the tunnel till he sees the light peeking out from the cavern. With a deep sigh to steady himself, he enters the cavern. Just like the cave from the other side of the tunnel, nothing’s changed. Except for the lack of a Snow Spirit.

“Hello?” Harry calls out, stepping into the cavern a bit more, “He—“

“Put it out!” A voice practically shouts at Harry.

“What?” Harry looks around the cavern, trying to look for the source of the voice when the snow spirit from yesterday suddenly shows himself to Harry in a gush of cold wind and snow, standing a few meters away from him.

There was an angry look on its face but at the same time, Harry couldn’t help but see the tiny hints of panic on his figure like how his hand was twitching and how he was gritting his teeth a little bit too hard. His robe was also wrapped around his entire figure unlike before where it was just hanging loose on his body, as if hiding from something, or most likely, someone.

“Ah—“ Harry says as he tries to approach the snow spirit when it suddenly takes a step back, its cold blue eyes staring at the torch in Harry’s hand. Harry stop glancing at his hand before he winces, trying to hold back the urge to slap himself on the head and quickly extinguishes the torch by dropping it into the snow. “I apologize, I did not mean to scare you like that.”

The snow spirit’s body doesn’t relax at all, if anything, it gets stiffer when Harry tries to apologize to him. There was a guarded expression on his face, Harry was conflicted if it meant that he was going to run away again or skewer Harry with an icicle or something.

“Why did you come back?” It asks in that odd voice once more, his cold eyes glaring at Harry.

Harry clears his throat, trying to look as unintimidating as he can to the other, “I came here to apologize for last time, for trespassing into your home.”

“Well, you’re doing it again right now.”

“Yes, well, unfortunately this is the only way I know how to reach you.” Harry tries to reason out, but the Spirit doesn’t seem to be relaxing any moment soon, “I also brought you some sandwiches, it’s a little ridiculous but I wanted to give you something for all the trouble I’ve caused for you.” He says as he brings out the paper wrapped sandwiches Michelle had given him earlier, still a bit warm despite the lengthy travel it took to get here.

Harry feels the air grow colder as the spirit scoffs at him, “I’m not some animal you can just simply give food to and expect camaraderie in return.” The snow fluctuates around the snow spirit, almost like he was standing in the middle of water.

Harry flinches a bit, realizing only now how bad of an idea it was, “Pardon me, that wasn’t my intentions towards you but I truly do mean that I want to make peace with you.”

The snow spirit remains quiet as he turns his face away from Harry, his arms crossed over his chest. Harry awkwardly shifts on his spot before he puts the sandwiches back in his pouch, he could probably just give it to the horses later instead of letting it go to waste. Harry raises his head, seeing that the spirit was still trying to ignore his presence while it was probably thinking of something.

“So, what do you eat then?” Harry asks, trying to get rid of the silence between them.

The snow spirit turns back at him, an eyebrow raised, “What?”

“What do you actually eat in a place like this?” Harry says as he gestures to the cavern they were currently in, “You have to at least eat something.”

The Spirit doesn’t answer Harry at first, as if he was analyzing the Knight’s face and his words for their sincerity even if it was just a simple question about his eating habits. It takes a while and Harry is tempted to ask again when the spirit suddenly replies,

“Ice. I eat nice.”

Harry was expecting an answer along those lines, but it still caught him off guard. There was a dismissive expression on the spirit’s face now, his eyebrows furrowed down a bit. It just seemed so weird how such a foreign being could have such human like characteristics. If you take away the whole ice and snow deal, this Spirit wouldn’t be any different from any of the other people in the village. Harry was used to fighting off cruel bandits, vile magical monsters and the nastiest witches one could ever have the chance to meet, but he had never met anything quite similar to the mystical being right in front of him. It was a bit unsettling, if he had to give a word about it.

“. . . What are you exactly?” Harry asks carefully, making sure he wasn’t overstepping any boundaries lest he wanted to die of frostbite, a blizzard to the face or something.

The Spirit just simply shrugs at him, “Just something made out of ice and snow that can control ice and snow. It’s really not that complicated.” It turns to Harry and suddenly those light blue eyes narrow at his figure once more, particularly his body. Harry resists the urge to check if there was something unusual on his body or if there was anything that could potentially piss off the Snow Spirit at the moment.

“You don’t have any weapons on you.” The Snow spirit suddenly says, saying it like a statement instead of question.

Harry stops himself from heaving a sigh of relief as he looks down at his cloak and turns the flaps over to show it the lack of a sword or dagger or any sort of weapon on his body.

Harry simply nods and raises his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender, “I meant it when I said earlier that I wanted to make peace with you, so I didn’t bring any weapons with me this time. It was horribly rude of me last time, to try to raise a sword against you, but if you would just give me the chance to talk to you on friendlier terms—“

The Spirit suddenly scoffing cuts Harry off, the white figure rolling his eyes at Harry, “Don’t feed me with your lies. I’m not as dumb as you think, you foolish human.” The spirit suddenly raises his robes in one hand as Harry’s eyes widened.

“Wait—“ Harry exclaims, trying to reach out for the other but it was too late as the Snow Spirit had suddenly waved his arm and his entire body vanishes in a gust of cold wind and snow, disappearing from Harry like he did before.

 


	4. The Snow's Promise

Okay, Harry didn’t think that befriending a Snow spirit would be easy. But he didn’t think it would be this hard either.

The Knight has been climbing up and down the mountain for about three days now and every time it ended up with the Snow Spirit glaring at him before suddenly disappearing in a swirl of wind and snow. Harry was no old man, but even he could get tired from the repetitive trips up the mountain. It was probably part of the spirit’s plan, to get Harry to stop coming up the mountain, but a Hart never refused a challenge.

And dare he say it, but he was actually getting used to the cold a bit.

A bit.

At least he could go out into the snow for about an hour before he starts shivering.

Roxy and Merlin on the other hand stayed behind in the cottage, helping Daisy chop up wood and delivering it back to the village. It became quite easier with the aid of Merlin’s magic, though Daisy was a bit embarrassed that the Scot kept volunteering with his magic, saying that it wasn’t needed and it would probably tire him out, so he eventually just gave in and picked up an axe. 

And every time Harry does come back to the cottage with that exhausted expression on his face, Roxy would frown and ask him, “You sure you don’t want us to help you out Harry?” To which he would reply with a polite shake of his head and move closer to the fireplace till he was right in front of it. Daisy would always be such a sweet young lady and give her a nice cup of warm tea every time.

At the moment Harry was trekking up the mountain again, his boots digging deep into the snow as he made his way up. Luckily enough, there weren’t any more blizzards in the area, from what Daisy could tell. Which confuses Harry a bit because the spirit could just as easily cast a snowstorm to completely ward Harry away, but the weather’s been relatively calm the past few days despite that.

Harry was snatched away from his thoughts when the loud sound of a pained yelp catches his attention. He turns his head to the source of the sound, just a few ways ahead of some trees. He cautiously makes his way there, cursing beneath his breath at the reminder that he did not bring any weapons, so if things turned bad there was no way he would be able to defend himself aside from his fists.

Harry soon comes into a clearing after squeezing himself past a few trees and finds the source of the sound. There in the snow, was a small steel cage and inside of it was the smallest white fox Harry has ever seen. It was scratching away at the cage, probably a fox trap now that Harry had a clearer view of it, whining.

This was probably the first signs of life he had seen this high up in the mountain.

When Harry comes out of the trees and into the open area, the fox suddenly flinches and moves farther into the cage as Harry comes close to it, whining helplessly as it did.

“No no, it’s fine. I’m here to help.” Harry says as he crouches down in front of it slowly, trying not to scare the fox.

This was strange. Daisy’s never mentioned about people hunting in the mountains. She had told them that she and her mom were the only ones living here after all and she’s never said anything about hunting for food. In fact, they had an ample food supply in the wood cabin, so it was impossible that this was related to the mother and daughter in any way.

Harry was about to unlock the cage when he heard the sounds of approaching footsteps in the snow. He turns his head to see two men coming out of the tree line and immediately stopping when they see Harry. The Knight immediately stands up, his eyes narrowing at the two strangers.

From the way that they were dressed, Harry was definitely sure that these two men weren’t from the village. They were too rugged looking and one of them even had a piece of cloth that was wrapped around the lower half of his face. They looked more like bandits than they were— Oh.

“I assume that this trap is yours then, gentlemen?” Harry says as the two men look at each other, confusion marring their faces. When it looks like that the two were still thinking of what to say, Harry moves the flap of his coat to the side, showing his Kingsman emblem that was embroidered into his leather armor. “It is illegal to hunt in this Kingdom without a hunting license. Now I could very well punish the two of you right now as a Kingsman Knight or you could run away and be spared from it.”

The two men glance at each other once more before they quickly turn their backs and start running into the tree line again, disappearing from Harry’s sight. The Knight couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escapes him, it was a good thing that they fell for his bluff. He wouldn’t be able to do much ‘punishing’ without his sword after all.

His eyebrows furrow down a bit, if Harry was correct then those two men were indeed bandits, probably accomplices with the men who attacked the village. Once he’d get back down from the mountain, he’d need to inform Chester about this. Why were they even up here in the mountain in the first place? Was their hideout somewhere around here?

Well at least they hadn’t attacked Michelle and Daisy. As good as Daisy is with an axe, he’d doubt she could fair against dozens of men who were bigger and stronger than her, and probably had a lot more deadly weapons.

Harry shakes his head and returns back to freeing the small fox. He crouches again in front of the small cage, his hands working on the look. The fox was looking at Harry curiously, watching his hands as he unlocked the cage. The cage opens up with a ‘click’ sound and fox carefully walks out.

“There, isn’t that better?” Harry smiles as the pure white fox gently rubs his head against Harry’s knee, the Knight unable to help himself as he pets the small fox’s head. Harry carefully holds the fox in his hands and checks for any injuries. Fortunately, judging from the clean white fur of the fox, the poor thing only got caught in the cage and nothing else.

Harry gently lets it down unto the snow and the small fox yips at him, bouncing around Harry for a moment or so before it scampers away, disappearing into the snow and trees.

The Knight lets out a satisfied huff as he stands up, brushing off the snow that had collected on his coat. At least he had done one productive task for today, Heavens knows that the little fox had at least appreciated it. Glancing up at the cold mountain, Harry couldn’t help but wish that if only helping out the Snow Spirit would be as easy as helping out that little fox.

With a deep breath, Harry continues his climb to the Snow Spirit’s cave.

 

* * *

 

Harry wasn’t expecting to see the little fox again so soon.

The Snow spirit was sitting on the snow in the cavern, the small white fox from earlier curled on his lap as the spirit gently petted him. They looked like a picture straight out of a fairy tale book, especially with how ethereal the lighting looked like in the cavern. Harry almost didn’t want to disturb them.

When Harry steps in the cavern, his boots making a sound as soon as it digs into the snow, the Snow spirit gently raises its head to turn and look at Harry with an unreadable expression on his face. The fox didn’t stir on his lap though, quite satisfied with the current petting he was receiving.

The Snow spirit’s eyebrows furrowed a bit and his lips pursed, as if he was unable to bring up any words to his mouth.

“Jack told me that you saved him.” He finally says in a quiet and hushed voice, so unlike the aggressive tone he had been hearing from the other the past three days.

“Jack?” Harry couldn’t help but ask, unless It was the—

The Snow spirit gently gestures to the fox on his lap with his head, unable to move his hands unless he wanted to disturb the small thing.

“Oh.” Harry pauses for a while, “Two men were hunting illegally in this mountain. I just did my job and put a stop to it.” Harry looks at the small white fox that was currently purring on Snow spirit’s lap, “It was a good thing that I had arrived before the men did, the little guy wouldn’t have been able to do a thing.” Harry didn’t even want to think of how the Snow Spirit and the fox were able to communicate. A wise bald wizard once said that it was best not to question the logic of magical beings or magic itself. It didn’t stop Harry from being confused by it though.

The Snow spirit regards Harry for a few moments of silence before it gently nods its head,

“Thank you.”

The reply was so simple and short but Harry could hear the sincere gratitude and relief in the spirit’s voice. The Snow spirit lowers its head once more to the small fox in its lap, his hands gently shifting to gently brush its hand over the fox’s fur.

“It’s no problem.”

And there was silence in the cavern once more, nothing but the sound of the fox gently purring echoed. Harry was about to speak when the spirit beat him to it.

“Eggsy.” It suddenly says softly and Harry couldn’t help the confusion at its sudden reply.

“Eggsy?”

The Snow spirit heaves a sigh, “Are you going to do that every time I tell you a name?” It shakes his head, “It’s my name. Yours is . . .?”

And that’s when Harry realized that he hadn’t even given his name to the other this whole time. How quite rude of him.

“Hart, Harry Hart. I apologize, it seems that I’ve forgotten to tell you my name this entire time.” The Snow Spirit, _Eggsy_ , shakes its head with a simple shrug. Well, at least he didn’t mind it. Most people in the capital would be outraged if Harry didn’t introduce himself first thing in a conversation, though a lot of the people in the capital already knew him so it never made sense to him.

Harry looks at the two who were sitting down on the snow and takes a risk, “May I?” He asks, gesturing the space next to Eggsy.

Eggsy regards him with a cautious look before he gives in and nods.

Harry quietly approaches, feeling a bit proud of himself for getting this far into the cavern since he’d usually just stay by the mouth of the tunnel every time he’d go here. He sits down right next to Eggsy, though there was an ample amount of space between them. Harry wasn’t sure that Eggsy was already _that_ comfortable with him.

Eggsy was still petting the fox on his lap, ignoring the fact that Harry was right beside him probably. The little fox looked so content and satisfied though, curling into a small ball of pure white on top of Eggsy’s light blue robe, it almost looked like a snowball. Harry carefully reaches out to brush his hand against the fox’s fur, making Eggsy flinch a bit all of the sudden but the Spirit doesn’t retract his hand and goes on like nothing had happened.

Oddly enough, despite the fact that Eggsy’s hands were all over the fox earlier, it didn’t seem as cold as Harry thought it would be. There was just a slight chill, but other than that, the fox was fine. Harry could feel the warmth from the fox. At least that showed that the Snow Spirit didn’t have any particular aversion to body warmth.

“Were you the one who named him?” Harry asks, hoping to break the quiet air between the two of them.

Eggsy nods his head, “Yeah, I did. Found the little guy hanging around the front of the cave one day, hasn’t left the area ever since.”

Well, at least the fox wasn’t suddenly brought to life by the Snow spirit’s powers. Harry wouldn’t probably be able to handle it if Eggsy suddenly had life giving powers. Again, shouldn’t question the logic of magic.

“Why Jack?”

“. . .  Guess.” Eggsy suddenly says, looking at the Knight with a little bit of playful look in his eyes, his head tilted a bit to the side.

Harry was suddenly taken aback by the other’s suddenly friendlier tone but he clears his throat and recomposes himself, thinking for a while, “Jack for . . . Jack Frost?”

The answers earns him a roll of Spirit’s eyes and a small huff, “Oh, hilarious. Cause I'm a being made out of ice and now?”

Harry was about to retract his statement, fearing that he offended the other but sees how relaxed the other’s posture was compared to before, so unlike the stiff figure he had seen a few days ago.

“Where is it from then?”

 Eggsy pauses for a reply, probably hesitating for a moment or two before it answers, “It's from that old story with that kid and the beans.”

“Jack and the Beanstalk?” It was a good thing that Alastair was such a doting uncle and bought plenty of fairy tale books for Roxy when she was young or else Harry wouldn’t have any idea on what Eggsy was talking about. “Why?”

Eggsy shrugs, "I dunno, I guess it’s like my favorite story. Some kid who grew up poor suddenly comes back to his mom with the giant's gold and they live happily ever after." Harry couldn’t help but see the nervous shifting and uneasy glances towards him. The other probably thought that Harry was going to ridicule him for his reasoning.

“It's a good name." Harry smiles and continues to pet Jack's head. When he turns his head a bit to glance at the other, he sees a surprised look on Eggsy’s face before his cheeks turn blue, an embarrassed expression on his face now as the spirit suddenly turns his face away from the other. Harry could still see the tip of Eggsy’s ears turning into a light shade of blue though. Was that a Snow spirit thing or something? What could it possibly mean? Well, he could probably ask Merlin about it later.

Harry lets the other relax a bit until Eggsy turns his gaze back, the color gone from his cheeks. It was quite odd being this close to the other and being able to see how ice-like the other’s white skin was, it felt like looking at those marble statues that were all over the King’s palace. Harry shakes his head, trying to get back on track.

“Eggsy, I need your help.” Harry says earnestly and looks into the other’s light blue eyes as Eggsy turns and looks at Harry with a confused and bewildered expression on his face.

Eggsy’s face was quite honest when it came to the Spirit’s emotions. Harry could see how Eggsy’s lips tilting a bit and his eyebrows scrunching up before he lets out a sigh, his shoulders drooping down a bit.

“Well, you did help Jack after all. . .” He mutters quietly, looking at Harry with a considerate look on his face.  

Harry then explains the situation of the village near the mountain and how the townspeople were suffering because of the horrible cold the winter brought. As Harry talks, Eggsy’s head bows down, his eyes stuck on Jack as he petted the fox continuously like he wasn’t hearing Harry. But judging from the conflicted expression on the Sprit’s face, he was taking in every detail.

“So, with that in mind,” Harry lets himself pause, knowing that he had to be careful with this, “I’d like to know if you know anything about it. I’m not suggesting that this curse came from you, after all you—“

“I didn’t mean it.” Eggsy suddenly interrupts the Knight and speaks in such fragile tone that it surprises Harry.

“What do you mean by that, Eggsy?”

Eggsy bites down on his lower lip, looking as if he was hesitating before he forces his mouth to open, “Jack strayed off awhile back, so I tried looking for him till I ended up at the base of the mountain, it’s the farthest I’ve ever gone.” Eggsy’s hand stopped petting Jack, who merely stretched its paws and went back to sleep, “I found him eventually, but there were other people there too. There were these men there, I had never seen them in the mountain before. They were hauling around a large wagon and one of them saw me while I was trying to sneak away with Jack, they started shouting and throwing torches and weapons at me.” The spirit was fumbling with his fingers anxiously as he spoke.

Harry could feel the air growing colder around the other, but Eggsy continued talking nevertheless, “I. . . I panicked and I tried to defend myself with my magic, but I couldn't control it and the next thing I know, a great amount of magic had slipped from my hands and everything started to freeze up; and there was suddenly snow and ice where there wasn’t supposed to be any.” Harry tried to pretend that he didn't see the snow shaking around Eggsy, like it was feeling the Snow Spirit’s anxiousness. Eggsy didn’t even notice it though, because he continue talking, “I ran away, and there was this awful loud sound of metal clanging against each other as I did. I keep hearing it every day. It won’t stop echoing in my head.” Eggsy stops, the Spirit biting down on his lower lip as the turmoil grows even more in the Spirit’s eyes.

Harry’s eyes furrowed as he listened to the Spirit, he certainly wasn't expecting that. He felt relieved that Eggsy didn't exactly curse the village on purpose, but it still did not bode well with the fact that he still was the one who caused it. If Chester found out about this, he would be outraged at the fact that Harry hasn't slain the Snow Spirit already. The source of the problem was literally sitting right in front of him and it would be so easy to end the problem right here and now. And yet Harry couldn't. Not when he could see the horribly torn expression on Eggsy’s face, the Spirit’s body trembling after telling his story.

“I didn’t mean to do that to the village.” The spirit says once more, his voice like that of a poor child begging forgiveness from his mother.

Harry leans a bit closer, despite how the air seemed so cold around the Snow Spirit, doing his best not to agitate Eggsy any further, “Why don’t you use your powers to reverse the eternal winter in the village, then?”

Eggsy raises his gaze immediately, an angry and yet panicked expression on his face. Harry has to back off quickly when spikes made out of ice suddenly shoot out of the ground, the wind suddenly blowing colder than it was earlier, “I don’t know how! I’ve been trying for weeks and I just keep making it worse! Why do you think there was that giant snowstorm the night you first came to this mountain?” He exclaims, his shoulders shaking even more. Jack, who was sleeping peacefully on his lap suddenly yelps in surprise at the sudden loud voice of Eggsy and jumps into the pile of snow next to him, its black eyes curiously looking at his distressed owner with its body buried in the snow.

Harry manages to sit up properly after the outburst and raises his hand to the Spirit, trying to placate him, “Please calm down, Eggsy. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you like that.” When Harry says that, the spirit’s eyes widen when he sees the ice that sprouted from the ground, like he didn’t even realize that he had caused it. Eggsy deflates as the ice shards suddenly dissolve back into the snow, his shoulders slumped down as his head lowers itself in shame.

“Pathetic, a being made out of ice and snow but I don’t even know how anything works.” He whispers beneath his breath, his voice cracking a bit as he buries his face into his hands.

A frown crosses Harry’s face, it brought a small ache in his chest seeing the spirit so distraught. He tries going back to where he was sat earlier on the snow, he had to move a few feet away earlier to avoid being sliced up by the ice after all. The air around the Spirit was a bit more bearable now, but Harry would take the cold blistering wind any day rather than hearing Eggsy’s breath hitching quietly as he tries his best not to break down completely. 

The cavern was doused in silence once more, only the sound of Eggsy’s breathing could be heard. Harry’s lip press together, deep in thought, before he suddenly breaks the silence, “Back when I was still a trainee, I slipped during a sparring session and earned myself this huge scar on my right thigh. The Trainer didn't let me step unto the training grounds till a month later." He says out of nowhere.

Eggsy raises his head from his hands, an incredulous and confused expression on his face, “Why are you telling me this?” His voice too soft and fragile after his outburst from earlier.

“I'm telling you this because I want you to know that this is not your fault. You may be an all-powerful being but it is fine to not be able to control your powers every now and then.” Harry looks at Eggsy, meeting his gaze, “Everyone makes mistakes, Eggsy, and you are not an exception to that just because you have magic.”

Eggsy keeps his gaze with Harry for a few moment before his head lowers down once more, the Spirit looking so small and frail. Harry internally heaves a small sigh.

“Look, we can work on it together, I’ll help you.”

“How?” Eggsy says as Jack quietly approaches the Spirit once more, its small head nuzzling against his leg. The Spirit numbly pets him in return, probably trying to distract himself.

Harry purses his lips, he didn’t really think that one through, but he already said it so there was no going back, “I don't know, but I'll help in any way I can, you have my word.”

Eggsy sighs, looking up at Harry from underneath his long white eyelashes with a tired expression on his face, “What worth could a human's word possibly be?"

The Knight shakes his head and smiles at Eggsy, “More than what you can imagine.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couldn't resist putting JB in the story :D though I wasn't able to come up with a name with the initials J.B. that would make sense in this AU, so I just went for Jack instead. Hope no one minds :>


	5. The Snow's Effort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a bit too long, but I have no excuse haha  
> Hope you enjoy! <3

As Harry arrives at the cavern the next day, he internally breathes a sigh of relief at the lack of a hostile atmosphere in the area with the sight of Eggsy playing around with Jack in the snow. It was certainly better than walking in only to see the Snow Spirit glaring daggers at him. Honestly, this was a huge improvement.

Eggsy was over by the large mounds of snow in the middle of the cavern with Jack who was running around the Snow Spirit in circles. The Snow Spirit had a calm expression on his face for once as he tried to conjured up some snow balls in his hands to throw at the white fox, who quickly dodged them by jumping and rolling around in the snow.

When Harry takes a step into the cavern, his leather boot digging into the snow, Eggsy flinches before he suddenly turns around. His posture relaxes a bit when he makes eye contact with Harry and the Knight couldn’t help but be relieved by that even more, especially since the Snow Spirit’s hands were twitching a bit earlier before he realized it was only him. The Knight did not want to start out his morning with an ice shard through the face, no thank you.

Harry smiles as he continues his way into the cavern, “Good morning to you both.” Eggsy gives him a small nod, muttering a small ‘good morning’ in return. Jack had a more enthusiastic reaction, the small white fox quickly scampering to Harry as the Knight walks towards them.

Harry crouches down into the snow as the fox rubs its head against his knee. “Hello Jack, I have a little treat for you.” The fox tilts his head, looking curiously at Harry as the knight reaches into his pouch and pulls out a several slices of meat that were wrapped around with paper, thankfully still a little bit warm.

When he recounted his experiences yesterday to the others, Harry couldn’t say no to Michelle who insisted for him to bring a treat for the little fox. Even Roxy seemed to be siding with her as Daisy immediately went into the kitchen to find something for Harry to bring the next day.

Once he had informed Merlin and Roxy that he was able to befriend Eggsy, Roxy had first commented what an odd name it was though, there was a shared sigh of relief in the warm living room. They were finally getting somewhere in this crazy winter problem and Merlin and Roxy was already eager to get to meet the Snow Spirit himself, though Harry had convinced him to at least give him a little more time.  

Harry had also tried asking Merlin about how Eggsy’s cheeks had gone blue that day and he hadn’t gotten any answer at all when his fellow Knight just looked at him with an incredulous expression on his face before rolling his eyes. He then threw his hands up into the air in defeat as he walked into the kitchen and away from harry, muttering something along the lines of ‘James Spencer would be proud.’ Leaving Harry Hart more confused than he was in the first place.

Well, going back to task at hand, the fox yips excitedly when it smells the scent of food in Harry’s hands, who quickly puts it down unto the ground, making sure that the meat was on the paper, for Jack to start munching on it. 

“Already trying to get Jack’s loyalty, I see.” Eggsy says who was now suddenly in front of him, looking and checking at what the white fox was eating, probably to make sure that Harry didn’t just poison the small animal.

Harry chuckles lightly, unable to stop the small smile on his face as he watches the fox chew on his treat quite happily, “No need to get jealous,” The Snow spirit light-heartedly rolls his eyes at this, a small smirk on his face “I have something for you too.”

Eggsy frowns at this and crosses his arms over his chest, “Didn’t I already tell you that I don’t appreciate you bribing me with food?”

The Knight shakes his head at that before reaching into his pouch once more, handing out a glass orb that was about the size of his hand to the Snow Spirit in front of him.

Eggsy raises an eyebrow when he sees what the Knight had given him, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

Harry looks up from where he was crouching down as he petted Jack’s soft white ears gently and sees Eggsy staring at the glass orb curiously. The Snow Spirit was turning it over and over again in his hands, as if expecting something to happen if he looked through it at the right angle.

“I thought that we’d start out simple, so I had my friend, Merlin, make that for me when I got back yesterday.” Harry says as he stands up. Jack finally finishes the treats Harry had given him and looks up at the Knight, wondering why the nice petting was suddenly over before it just scampered off to Eggsy’s side once more, hiding itself in the Spirit’s long light blue robes. “It’s filled with water, as you can see. All you have to do is to freeze the water inside and unfreeze it.”

Eggsy gives him a hesitant look, his eyebrows drawn together and his lips slightly pouting.

“It’s just a glass orb with water in it, Eggsy. There’s no reason to be anxious.”

“I know.” Eggsy stubbornly mutters, the pout on his face deepening though it only made him look more nervous along with the way his fingers were tapping against the glass.

Harry looks as the Snow Spirit slowly closes his eyes and heaves a deep breath, probably trying to relax. It didn’t take more than a few seconds as the water inside the orb suddenly freezes quite effortlessly on the Snow Spirit’s part, Eggsy opening his eyes as he did so, light blue eyes glued to the glass orb in his hands for a moment or so.

Eggsy raises his head to look at Harry, who gives him a small nod and a gesture for him to continue. The Snow Spirit nods in return and turns back his gaze to his hands. His snow white eyebrows furrowed in concentration and his fingers trembled a bit. There was a small flash of light blue in his hands, kind of like a spark, but when Harry takes a look at the orb, the water inside was still frozen. The only difference now was that the glass orb now had a layer of frost around it.

Seeing the disheartened look on Eggsy’s face, Harry immediately speaks up, “It’s not like we were expecting you to succeed at the first try. Try as many times as you want.”

And Eggsy did, over and over and over again.

They eventually sat down on the snow, facing each other after the first thirty minutes had passed without any sign of success. Harry could see the building frustration in the other’s face, his grip tightening around the orb every time an attempt failed.  The frost around the orb was already building up quite a bit, Harry had to reach out and wipe the orb down multiple times before handing it back to Eggsy, who had his eyebrows furrowed down and his lips set into a deep frown each time he did.

The cavern was silent, except for the small sounds of magic coming from Eggsy’s fingers. Jack was already curled up in the snow beside them, sleeping peacefully and without a care in the world.  And it was silent, until Eggsy suddenly sighs after probably the fiftieth try.

Eggsy drops his hands to his laps, shoulders slouching down in defeat, “This isn’t probably what you had in mind when you were sent here to kill me.”

The Snow spirit immediately scoffs when he sees the surprised look on Harry’s face, “What? You didn’t think I was that dumb, right? Some Knight marching in here bearing the Kingdom’s insignia on his sword?”

Harry was stunned for a moment or so, unable to reply before he forces his mouth to start working again, “I apologize Eggsy, but you must know that those are no longer my intentions towards you. I was a fool to come running into this cavern, trying to raise my sword against something I didn’t even try to understand at first.”

Eggsy was quiet, eyes stuck on the glass orb as he rolled it in the palm of his hands. Harry was this close to thinking that he had already botched up any hope of trying to befriend Eggsy and getting some answers when the Spirit suddenly speaks once more.

“I want to try and trust you.” Eggsy says before he looks up at Harry beneath his frost laced eyelashes, surprising him once more, “Can I trust you, Harry?”

Harry straightens up, looking at Eggsy more seriously now, “Yes, I promise, Eggsy. I swear on my Knighthood and everything else that makes up who I am.”

The two stare at each for a while in silence, only the sound of the cold wind in the cavern their company. Harry doesn’t break his gaze with the Spirit though, knowing that Eggsy was probably reading him right now, deciding whether his words were sincere or not. He couldn’t blame him for the caution, the idea of trusting a total stranger is completely absurd, especially to a being like Eggsy who obviously lived a quite solitary life until now and yet here they were. The idea that Eggsy was willing to try and trust Harry, it already meant a lot.

The silence continues for a bit when Eggsy’s jaw tenses a bit before he simply nods and turns his attention back to the orb in his hand.

“Okay, I believe you.”

Harry was unable to hide the relief in his face at that, his shoulders dropping down a bit and a small smile coming up to his face.  

“Thank you.”

 

* * *

 

Harry didn’t mean to, but he had spent the next moments just staring at the Snow Spirit in front of him, who had his eyes closed in concentration once more, his hands wrapped tightly around the glass orb.

He had already acknowledged it a few times before, but now with a closer look on the Snow Spirit, Harry couldn’t help but think about how beautiful Eggsy actually was in some weird icy way. He certainly looked youthful, not a wrinkle or scar marring his face and smooth light skin but Harry knew there was the chance that Eggsy could be possibly older than him, magic was weird that way. His smooth alabaster skin with that mysterious light blue tinge, though probably made of ice, looked warm to touch and his hair that looked like it was weaved from the very snow that fell from the sky with a few kisses from sunlight, Harry couldn’t help but imagine that it would feel so soft and smooth against his fingers.

If before Harry would compare him to the more harsh sides of winter, right now it was like taking a glimpse of the more gentler side of the season, a purer version. The very same winter that Harry experienced when he was a young boy. The feeling of unadulterated happiness and excitement when you watch your very first snowfall, it would always feel so magical, or even as an adult, he would watch the snow gathering on his windowsill, the ice frosting the glass, while he would drink a warm cup of tea with a good book in his hand. Right now, Eggsy looked like the embodiment of that very winter Harry loved. Calm and soothing, not too strong but also not too brittle.

Eggsy slowly opens his eyes before he slowly raises his gaze to meet Harry’s. Huh. Now that Harry was closer to the Snow Spirit, he could see small flecks of green in the Snow Spirit’s light blue eyes, circling around his pupil. Harry’s never seen anything quite like it before.

“Umm . . . Harry?”

Eggsy’s voice snaps Harry out of his daze and he is mortified to realize that he was actually staring at the Snow Spirit the whole time and what’s worse, he was caught in the act by Eggsy himself. There was a small light blue color gathering on Eggsy’s cheeks again, growing darker and darker every second. Quick, he had to think of something before the situation gets even more awkward.

In an effort to try to save face, Harry forces his mouth open and immediately starts talking, “E-Earlier you mentioned that you saw the Kingdom’s insignia on my sword.” Thank Heavens that he had an actual question that he had wanted to ask for Eggsy, “How did you recognize it?”

There was a look of mild surprise as the Snow Spirit pauses and there were a few moments where it seemed like Eggsy was thinking about his answer before his eyebrows furrowed down and he shrugs, “I’m not really sure, but I just do.”

Harry straightens up, trying his best to regain his composure, “What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I said, I don’t really know.” Eggsy shifts a bit on the snow, “I don’t know where I’ve seen it from, but I do recognize it, as strange as that sounds.”

The Knight pauses for a bit, pressing his fist against his mouth with his elbow propped on his knee, “That _is_ quite strange. Especially since there aren’t any flags in this mountain bearing the Kingdom’s insignia.” Another question pops into Harry’s mind conveniently following the line of questioning, “How about your name, Eggsy? Has it always been ‘ _Eggsy’_ for you?”

“Well, yeah.” Eggsy frowns at this, perhaps only now realizing it, “That’s always been my name.”

“Where did it come from? Did you decide it for yourself?”

“I . . .  don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

Eggsy simply nods in return.

There was that uneasy feeling in Harry’s chest again, it’s been welling up inside of him ever since he stepped foot on this mountain. Merlin has always told him to trust his instinct, but he didn’t know what his gut feeling even wanted him to do at the moment. Taking a look at Eggsy, he sees that conflicted expression on his face once more and Harry couldn’t help but feel a bad for putting that on his face in the first place. With each second that Harry spends with the Snow Spirit, more and more questions just kept piling up.

Harry shakes his head, they could deal with that later, now they had to focus on settling the village’s curse for now.

“I apologize for bringing that up, Eggsy. Merely an old man’s curiosity, nothing you should worry about. Now, how about we try once more with the glass orb?”

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Will try my best to update as regularly as I can! <3


End file.
